History's People: Personalities and the Past

Review Irreverent and highly enjoyable ― ObserverCombines erudition and enthusiasm ― IndependentAs entertaining and illuminating a work of popular history as one could possibly wish for ― ProspectShe yet again shows that she is not only a consummate storyteller; she is also a brilliant historian ― New StatesmanA wise and necessary book ― The TimesHer enthusiasm ... really shines through. ― Financial TimesExhilarating ― Guardian Product Description What difference do individuals make to history? Are we all swept up in the great forces like industrialisation or globalisation, or is the world we inhabit shaped just as much by real people - leaders for example - and the decisions that they make? For better or for worse, the personalities of the powerful can affect millions of people and the future of countries: it matters who is in the driving seat, and who is making plans. Equally important: how is history itself made by those who keep the records?In History's People Margaret Macmillan explores the lives of the great and lesser-known figures of the past: men, women, explorers, rulers, dreamers, politicians, observers, campaigners. She looks at the concept of leadership, from Bismarck to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, but also at the role of observers such as Babur, first Mughal emperor of India, and asks how explorers and visionaries such as Fanny Parkes and Elizabeth Simcoe managed to defy or ignore the constraints of their own societies. And, in doing so, she uncovers the important and complex relationship between biography and history, and between individuals and their times.Like all the best history, this book will change the way you see the past, as well as your own times - and perhaps introduce you to some people you didn't know. Book Description From the author of The War That Ended Peace: vivid accounts of the men and women who shaped history About the Author Margaret MacMillan is the author of Women of the Raj and international bestsellers Nixon in China and Peacemakers, which won the 2002 Samuel Johnson Prize. Her most recent book, The War that Ended Peace, was published by Profile. She is now the Warden of St. Antony's College at Oxford University.